Welcome to the NFB of Pennsylvania

The National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the expectations of blind people because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want; blindness does not hold us back. Together with love, hope and determination, we transform dreams into reality.

Since 1977, the National Federation of the Blind of PA has been helping members live the lives they want! With our chapters, divisions, committees, programs, and projects, the NFB of PA is making the public aware that the real problem concerning blindness is not blindness itself but the lack of knowledge, understanding, and opportunity from our sighted peers. Get involved in the largest organization of the blind in the nation and in the state. Get involved in the NFB of PA and help us live the lives we want!

Our Mission:

The mission of the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania is to achieve widespread emotional acceptance and intellectual understanding that the real problem of blindness is not the loss of eyesight but the misconceptions and lack of information which exist. We do this by bringing blind people together to share successes, to support each other in times of failure, and to create imaginative solutions.

What is the NFB?

The National Federation of the Blind is an organization of blind and interested sighted people whose purpose is to promote equal opportunity for the blind. Founded in 1940, the Federation has affiliates in every state, Puerto Rico, Washington DC and includes more than 50,000 of the nation’s blind. Dedicated to the complete integration of the blind into society, the Federation works toward the removal of legal, economic, and societal barriers to full participation by blind people in employment, education, recreation, and all other aspects of community life. The Federation is working to end discrimination by educating the public to new concepts about blindness and the abilities of blind people, offering training and advocacy to blind people and to parents of blind children, and providing job referrals and placements. The Federation helps the newly blinded to learn the techniques that will enable them to maintain productive lives and informs them of services available from governmental and private agencies and of the laws and regulations concerning the blind.

The National Federation of the Blind is an organization of the blind speaking for ourselves.

NFB-NEWSLINE®

NFB-NEWSLINE® is a free service offering access to newspapers available to anyone who is blind, visually impaired or print-disabled. It offers over 400 publications to choose from, including 12 national newspapers like the Wall Street Journal and USA Today, 20 breaking news sources such as CNN, BBC and ESPN Online, 17 international newspapers including Financial Times and Vancouver Sun, and countless state newspapers, as well as over 50 magazines like Family Circle, Time, Smithsonian and more.

NFB-NEWSLINE® also has TV Listings so you can keep track of your favorite shows.

Job listings with NFB-NEWSLINE® are another important resource for subscribers. Job listings for NFB-NEWSLINE® are provided by a leading national search engine with over 100,000 jobs listed.

Another feature of NFB-NEWSLINE® is the localized weather alerts. Have you heard the emergency alert tone on the television but are unable to read the message scrolling on the screen? Now you can simply sign into NFB-NEWSLINE® and the weather report will be read to you on the spot. Any available weather alerts will be provided as soon as you sign into NFB-NEWSLINE®.

NFB-NEWSLINE’s wide array of publications and announcements can be accessed anytime you choose, on your schedule, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There are a variety of ways to access. You can use your touch-tone telephone; you can access the service via the website, On Demand emails, using portable players, or even via your iPhone, iPad or iPod! And it’s always free.

The Office for Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR) has sponsored and funded NFB-Newsline® in Pennsylvania. We thank the OVR for continuing to raise expectations to live the life we want!

For additional information, please visit our NFB-Newsline® page to learn how to sign up. You can also contact NFB-NEWSLINE at the National Federation of the Blind by dialing 1-866-504-7300 (toll free).

We proudly sponser: the KNFB Reader app!

The KNFB Reader app is a revolutionary tool that you can use, with the touch of a single button, to read virtually any type of printed text, including mail, receipts, class handouts, memos, and many other documents. Accuracy is facilitated by a field-of-view report, automatic page detection, and tilt control. The KNFB Reader is now fully sponsored by the NFB! To learn more about the app and how to download, visit www.nfb.org/knfbreader. You can also learn more at <www.knfbreader.com>. We are proud to inform you that in addition to the KNFB Reader being available on iOS and Android devices, it is now available on Windows 10 devices. Please download the following to learn how to use the KNFB Reader app:

Eligible Sprint customers can get a KNFB Reader Enterprise license for free!

Starting November 20, 2017, Sprint customers who purchase a new line of service or eligible upgrade through Sprint Accessibility will receive a free license to download the KNFB Reader Enterprise app on up to two mobile devices.

If you are a new or upgrading Sprint customer, you may be able to get the power to convert printed documents into speech or Braille instantly and accurately at no extra cost!

When you launch the app, enter the username and password from step 3 above, and you’re all set!

Please be sure to download the KNFB Reader Enterprise app, not KNFB Reader for $99.99. The KNFB Reader Enterprise app is listed free in the app stores and can be activated with your free KNFB Reader Enterprise License from Sprint. KNFB Reader Enterprise allows users to enjoy the power of KNFB Reader on multiple devices. Make sure that KNFB Reader Enterprise is the app that you download onto your devices to take advantage of this offer. KNFB Reader Enterprise works on Apple, Android, Windows 10 devices, and Windows 10 laptops and PCs.

You’ll be able to use KNFB Reader Enterprise provided by Sprint. Just download KNFB Reader Enterprise on both devices and use the same username and password. For example, you can download KNFB Reader Enterprise onto your Sprint phone, and also to your Windows 10 laptop. Or onto both your Android phone and Android tablet.

To learn more about the KNFB Reader Enterprise, visit ]www.knfbreader.com]4.

Happy reading from the National Federation of the Blind and Sprint Accessibility!

We Need Your Help! Monitor Uber and Lyft Compliance with Service Animal Agreement

The National Federation of the Blind has created a rideshare testing program to measure Lyft and Uber’s efforts to eliminate driver discrimination against riders with guide dogs or service animals. Recent agreements with these two major ridesharing companies require the National Federation of the Blind to provide feedback, over the next three to five years, on the efforts they have agreed to undertake to prevent discrimination against service animal users.

Here’s where you come in. If you use Uber or Lyft and have a service animal or travel with someone who has a service animal, we need your help. Fill out our online questionnaire after your next Uber or Lyft ride, and as often as you can after that. We would love feedback from regular Uber and Lyft users at least once a month, about both positive and negative experiences.

Extensive information about the program is available in the May 2017 issue of the Braille Monitor. You can also visit nfb.org/rideshare for more information, including an extensive FAQ, information on how to report discrimination to Uber and Lyft directly as well as through our questionnaire, and a list of the questions we’ll ask so you can be thinking about them when you take your next ride.

Please share this information with fellow Uber and Lyft users with guide dogs or other service animals.

If you have questions that are not answered by the resources above, contact Valerie Yingling, legal program coordinator, at the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute, at (410) 659-9314 extension 2440, or vyingling@nfb.org.

Thanks in advance for your assistance with this important effort.

Lyft’s Service Animal User Guide

As part of the agreement reached between the NFB and Lyft, Lyft has created a service animal user guide. Please view the version most appropriate for you and share with other service animal users.